Published: Wednesday, February 6, 2013 at 3:15 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, February 7, 2013 at 12:43 a.m.

Following a season in which Clemson fielded one of the nation’s more dynamic offenses, the program’s new recruiting class went heavy on the other side of the ball.

Wednesday’s National Signing Day ended with a haul of seven offensive players and 15 on defense (with athlete T.J. Green a possibility to play either) that landed the Tigers in the top 15 by Scout (No. 12), ESPN (No. 13) and Rivals (No. 14).

“It’s our third top-15 class in a row,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said during Wednesday’s press conference. “We got better today and I feel it’s another step toward being the consistent program we want to be. It’s all about personnel and we’ve got a real quality group of men. We signed 23 guys and most of these guys were committed for a long time. I think 14 of them for quite a while and those guys for me kind of set the standard and will be great leaders. They never wavered and set a good foundation for us to complete this class.

“This is the culmination of lot of hard work by our staff and many, many hours. Some of these guys we’ve been recruiting for two and three years and it’s exciting to me when a young man chooses Clemson. All these guys have many choices and opportunities to go different places and they chose Clemson and that’s exciting to me.”

Wednesday’s biggest coup was receiving the signed commitment from five-star defensive back Mackensie Alexander, ranked No. 4 on ESPN’s Top 150 list. The Immokalee (Fla.) picked the Tigers over Mississippi State (which emerged as the day’s biggest surprise in securing multiple blue-chippers) and Auburn just moments after his twin brother — Mackenro — had announced he’d play for Auburn.

“To me Dabo Swinney is a good guy, a church guy like me,” Alexander said at his press conference. “He made it from the bottom to the top. I like coach (Mike) Reed a lot and I trust those guys. I am going to be in a great position. People talk about the SEC and it is what it is, but we are going to win a national title (at Clemson).”

As for not joining up with his brother with the other Tigers, Alexander said, “It was a big decision and my family wanted us to play together, but I wanted to be my own man and do my own thing. I just have to learn the playbook and as soon as I do that I will be on the field.”

Swinney likes what he sees in Alexander and believes he’s landed a real difference maker for an area that was one of the team’s weakest positions last season.

“Mackensie is a rare combination at that position with his size, speed and ball skills and ability to finish plays and tackle and all that,” Swinney said. “He’s going to bring a work ethic in here I think is rare amongst young people. He is completely driven and focused on being the best he can be and that’s the kind of thing that will rub off on your team.”

Clemson also got a late switch from 6-foot-1, 185-pound defensive back Korrin Wiggins, a long-time verbal North Carolina commit who changed his mind at the last moment. Ohio State also was in his final-three.

“Korrin was a big get for us. We signed a lot of defensive backs and have filled our critical needs,” Swinney said. “We got in a bind to a point last year we had to take Adam (Humphries) and kind of train him up (defensively). We just got very thin and lost key guys and felt we needed to have some guys who can come in and play for us early.”

Clemson’s last signing of the day came just after 4 p.m., when it received the letter of intent from offensive lineman Tyrone Crowder, a 6-foot-2, 315-pounder from Rockingham, N.C. Crowder is originally from Greer and still has family there, and is the cousin of Clemson linebacker Stephone Anthony. ESPN ranks him the country’s 125th best overall prospect and No. 5 among offensive guards. Maverick Morris (Douglas, Ga.) was the lone other offensive lineman signed this year.

“O-line was not a huge need in this class, but I felt we needed to pick up a couple of guys and felt we hit a home run with both of them,” Swinney said. “They’re Clemson guys who both bring different things to the table.”

Swinney also believes his team filled a long-needed role of adding some bulk to the backfield with a pair of ESPN four-star tailbacks in Wayne Gallman (6-foot-1, 195 pounds out of Loganville, Ga.) and Tyshon Dye (6-foot-1, 210 pounds from Elberton, Ga.).

“They’re tough, blue collar kids with great work ethic,” Swinney said. “Probably the best thing is they are already big, but potentially have the chance to be two of those big backs we really have not had since Jamie Harper. We need to add a little more size to the backfield and they are two great prospects.”

<p>Following a season in which Clemson fielded one of the nation's more dynamic offenses, the program's new recruiting class went heavy on the other side of the ball.</p><p>Wednesday's National Signing Day ended with a haul of seven offensive players and 15 on defense (with athlete T.J. Green a possibility to play either) that landed the Tigers in the top 15 by Scout (No. 12), ESPN (No. 13) and Rivals (No. 14).</p><p>“It's our third top-15 class in a row,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said during Wednesday's press conference. “We got better today and I feel it's another step toward being the consistent program we want to be. It's all about personnel and we've got a real quality group of men. We signed 23 guys and most of these guys were committed for a long time. I think 14 of them for quite a while and those guys for me kind of set the standard and will be great leaders. They never wavered and set a good foundation for us to complete this class.</p><p>“This is the culmination of lot of hard work by our staff and many, many hours. Some of these guys we've been recruiting for two and three years and it's exciting to me when a young man chooses Clemson. All these guys have many choices and opportunities to go different places and they chose Clemson and that's exciting to me.”</p><p>Wednesday's biggest coup was receiving the signed commitment from five-star defensive back Mackensie Alexander, ranked No. 4 on ESPN's Top 150 list. The Immokalee (Fla.) picked the Tigers over Mississippi State (which emerged as the day's biggest surprise in securing multiple blue-chippers) and Auburn just moments after his twin brother — Mackenro — had announced he'd play for Auburn.</p><p>“To me Dabo Swinney is a good guy, a church guy like me,” Alexander said at his press conference. “He made it from the bottom to the top. I like coach (Mike) Reed a lot and I trust those guys. I am going to be in a great position. People talk about the SEC and it is what it is, but we are going to win a national title (at Clemson).”</p><p>As for not joining up with his brother with the other Tigers, Alexander said, “It was a big decision and my family wanted us to play together, but I wanted to be my own man and do my own thing. I just have to learn the playbook and as soon as I do that I will be on the field.”</p><p>Swinney likes what he sees in Alexander and believes he's landed a real difference maker for an area that was one of the team's weakest positions last season.</p><p>“Mackensie is a rare combination at that position with his size, speed and ball skills and ability to finish plays and tackle and all that,” Swinney said. “He's going to bring a work ethic in here I think is rare amongst young people. He is completely driven and focused on being the best he can be and that's the kind of thing that will rub off on your team.”</p><p>Clemson also got a late switch from 6-foot-1, 185-pound defensive back Korrin Wiggins, a long-time verbal North Carolina commit who changed his mind at the last moment. Ohio State also was in his final-three.</p><p>“Korrin was a big get for us. We signed a lot of defensive backs and have filled our critical needs,” Swinney said. “We got in a bind to a point last year we had to take Adam (Humphries) and kind of train him up (defensively). We just got very thin and lost key guys and felt we needed to have some guys who can come in and play for us early.”</p><p>Clemson's last signing of the day came just after 4 p.m., when it received the letter of intent from offensive lineman Tyrone Crowder, a 6-foot-2, 315-pounder from Rockingham, N.C. Crowder is originally from Greer and still has family there, and is the cousin of Clemson linebacker Stephone Anthony. ESPN ranks him the country's 125th best overall prospect and No. 5 among offensive guards. Maverick Morris (Douglas, Ga.) was the lone other offensive lineman signed this year.</p><p>“O-line was not a huge need in this class, but I felt we needed to pick up a couple of guys and felt we hit a home run with both of them,” Swinney said. “They're Clemson guys who both bring different things to the table.”</p><p>Swinney also believes his team filled a long-needed role of adding some bulk to the backfield with a pair of ESPN four-star tailbacks in Wayne Gallman (6-foot-1, 195 pounds out of Loganville, Ga.) and Tyshon Dye (6-foot-1, 210 pounds from Elberton, Ga.).</p><p>“They're tough, blue collar kids with great work ethic,” Swinney said. “Probably the best thing is they are already big, but potentially have the chance to be two of those big backs we really have not had since Jamie Harper. We need to add a little more size to the backfield and they are two great prospects.”</p>